A Play at Death
by Atheniandream
Summary: The end...is only the beginning


Title: A Play at Death   
  
Author: Athena.   
  
Email: atheniandream@aol.com  
  
Content Warnings: Death, Angst, friendship/Romance  
  
Pairings: S/Jish, friends.  
  
Spoilers: None. Really.  
  
Season: Seven  
  
Rating: PG-13 I think.  
  
Summary: ~The end...is only the beginning~  
  
Author's notes: Ummm. Okay, it's a little weird but I kinda Like it, let's see what you guys think.  
  
Archive: Anywhere. I'm my own publicist. ;)  
  
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. I know this.  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
A Play at Death   
  
~The end...is only the beginning~  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
"He's dead." A voice called. It must have been near.  
  
I couldn't feel anything.  
  
Not the smell of red blood in my ears, dripping to the ground in a thick lucid puddle next to me.  
  
Not the white, agonising pain scorching my hand, as it struggled not to squeeze against the cold flesh of another,   
  
wrapped around mine.   
  
"So is the female." I heard a voice next to me.  
  
Not the burning haze that scratched at my eyes because I failed to move them.  
  
Not even the shouting; God banish all the shouting, roaring loudly around me.  
  
Miles and miles of shouting fixed around me and indistinguishable like shadowed figures frozen in the wind.  
  
Sickened and pale with grief, lost and evident around me, I did nothing... nothing but lie, still and   
  
"The Others?"  
  
Unnoticed, and...play dead...  
  
"The same... our work here is done."  
  
-------  
  
"Sir, we've lost contact...Sg-1...they're not responding."  
  
"Major. Find them. Before it's too late."  
  
-------  
  
She wasn't moving.  
  
*Carter* wasn't moving. She was just lying there with her back turned, silently annoying and worrying him at   
  
the worst possible time. He'd tried to wake he, and had been tapping her, on and off, for about an hour.   
  
Not that he could see her well at all. Nothing but a glazed and occasional blurring outline tinted by a   
  
blue moon in the night sky.   
  
They'd been unconscious for far too long, and he hadn't called for help, mainly because his left arm might be broken.   
  
He tried moving it, which was a bad mistake.  
  
**Wait, strike that, Yep, definitely broken.** he thought, trying to move and almost growling at the pain   
  
from the elbow up.  
  
Looking around, he couldn't see anything. A few noises rumbled in the distance, but they must have been at   
  
least a mile away, so they weren't an instant danger.  
  
She, however *was* the instant Danger.  
  
Until he looked down at his hip.  
  
And he wanted to vomit. All over himself.  
  
**Oh, fuck.** He panicked mid-thought.  
  
Staring at the huge wound-he had to be in shock-he cringed, and nearly swallowed his tongue in the process.   
  
He couldn't move at all for the blood. It was sliding underneath his jacket and drenching his back, and vastly   
  
making it's way to his boots.   
  
**No. He had to check Carter**  
  
Using his good right hand, he fished through his own pain to the left of him, sliding as far as he could   
  
up he waist to her neck, shivering slightly at his action,   
  
To her face.  
  
He could feel her eyes under his blooded fingers.  
  
"Dammit Carter." He whispered, choking a cough, and slid his fingers over to shut them.  
  
And For a moment it didn't matter where Daniel and Teal'c were. He knew already. And he'd failed.   
  
And suddenly all the death around him opened up and out into the air in distain and failure hanging over him.  
  
Taking the gun next to him, he struggled with the trigger.  
  
But not long enough, it seemed.  
  
A shot rang into the air.  
  
And it was all that he needed.  
  
------  
  
Wait...  
  
Where am I..?  
  
-----  
  
"Carter?" His eyes focused, as the blinding white all around him remained stark and raw.  
  
**Where the hell was he?**  
  
"Colonel?"   
  
Re-focusing, there she was. Right in front of him. Looking about as quizzical as he must have looked.   
  
Before he could study her further he asked, "Daniel and Teal'c?"  
  
"We are here O'Neill." Tealc's voice caused him to turned around, as both him and Daniel appeared either die of him.  
  
"What's going on?" He asked, staring at what looked like nothing. Not a white room. Not a sky. JUST whiteness.   
  
Shiny and glistening, and-  
  
Wait a minute, oh for cryin' out loud...  
  
"I think. Well, I think we're in heaven, Sir." Even startled at her own answer, she shrugged back at him.   
  
"Well at least I think that's where we are."   
  
"Oh Carter, for Cryin' out-"  
  
"She's right Jack." Daniel interrupted, rubbing the back of his neck and adjusting his glasses.  
  
  
  
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but Heaven's a little understated to me." Jack replied sarcastically  
  
And started to walk around the 'Open-space'. A picture of nothing but white and stillness engulfed his brain,   
  
stopping it for a second longer.  
  
"This isn't right." Daniel mumbled, drawing the attention of the other three.  
  
"What?" Came the reply as they all looked at him.  
  
"This isn't supposed to happen." He stated plainly. "I mean I don't know about you guys but, I don't want to be here."  
  
"What?"   
  
"He's right Colonel. WE shouldn't be here."   
  
"Well, had we not been so, I don't know 'DEAD' then maybe we wouldn't be!" He quipped, now frustrated,   
  
he stepped away from the group and started to walk. Where, he wasn't sure.   
  
**Maybe there was a door around here somewhere**  
  
Couldn't they see that they were dead?   
  
"I too desire to 'live again."   
  
"Well T, there might be a slight problem with that-"  
  
Carter, who had followed him by pure instinct, moved one hand to his shoulder, interrupting him mid-sentence,   
  
"Colonel. Do you want to go back?"   
  
"What?" He studied he eyes, her lips. Not finding anything there.   
  
"Jack. Do you want to stay here, or go back?" In the using of his name, her tone was slow as he eyes met his,   
  
he could feel her pleading.  
  
Peace?   
  
Tranquil, away from anger and any suffering emotion.   
  
Or Life? In it's busy repetition of hatred and mixed greyness.  
  
Which one was better? A peace to the point of being bored, or hell on earth?  
  
He stared at each face around him.  
  
Did they want this?  
  
Did he want to stay?  
  
One screaming art of his brain, still wanted to help the world. It still wanted to fight and save the day   
  
so that one day he could be a part of a world run by people who believed in it.  
  
That part of his brain made the defining decision.   
  
Sighing, he stared at them once more.  
  
He looked at her once more. Scrutinising and calm. Remembering wanting to see the sun touch her face again...  
  
  
  
"Let's go."  
  
-----  
  
"Sir, come in?"  
  
"I'm here Major. Have you found them?"  
  
"Yes Sir. They re injured and unconscious but...they're okay."  
  
"Good job major."  
  
-----  
  
Finally, I woke up, my eyes blurring before opening fully to my surroundings.  
  
But it wasn't dark anymore.  
  
It was light, but not that blinding white light that I'd seen before; luckily it was just a regular kind of bright.   
  
Like a warm Lampshade.  
  
I still hurt, the dampening pain still dragged against my bones and in the same area, but not as much a   
  
before, the pain had been dulled since.  
  
The Infirmary. It had to be.  
  
My eyes glared at the grey ceiling, and the patchy walls were comforting.  
  
So was the face looking at me from the next bed.  
  
Her face, although bruised and red sore, it was her. And she was smiling, oddly.  
  
"Hey." I whispered.  
  
"Hey." She called back. "You made the right choice."   
  
And I hoped to god that I had.   
  
----  
  
A play at death is only the beginning,   
  
And in a lucid state of disbelief I should hope to find all of myself,  
  
And fawn over the world with a likeness and a respect that I chose it,  
  
Choose whole heartedly,   
  
Be Pure of Destiny,   
  
Right in my Mind,   
  
And with you.  
  
Always.  
  
----  
  
  
  
Did you like it?  
  
Did you hate it?  
  
Feed us anyways, will you, I'm doing coursework, I'm bored.  
  
Athena 


End file.
